Lecture 18: Hearing 1

Question 1

Importance of hearing?

Answer 1

Is a window to the world, allows you to create a 3D image of your surroundings and is essential to communication and enriches life. Is critical to learning during development and is a poweful processor that never turns off.

Question 2

Brain network interactions?

Answer 2

Auditory system connected to the brain centres such as amygdala and hippocampus strongly invoved in emotion and memory

Importance of vision and auditory interactions E.g facial expression and lip movement for speech recognition

Somatosensory and vestibular system interact with head turning (sound localisation) connected at the cochlear nucleus in the brain stem.

Question 3

Deafness and tinnitus importance?

Answer 3

These are major diabilities with a high prevelance in the community that show a increased risk of dementia in older age.

Question 4

Hearing loss in children in NZ

Answer 4

2-3/1000 with moderate-profound deafness

approx 50% genetic

Cytomegalovirus infection is also a large cause

newborn hearing screening has brought down the time frame for detecting significantly

Otitis media with effusion (glue ear) is common as well as infection (meningitis) and trauma.

Question 5

Adult hearing loss in NZ

Answer 5

• Age-related
• noise exposure
• genetic
• trauma
• tumours - neuroma across vesibular and acoustic nerve
• ototoxic drugs
• aminoglycoside antibiotics and some cytotoxic anticancer drugs (eg. cisplatin)

Question 6

Impact of hearing impairment?

Answer 6

• Poor speech, language and cognitive skill
• Reduced literacy, learning, education, employment
• social isolation and stigmatisation

Question 7

Location of the ear canal and its parts?

Answer 7

Found at the temporal bone of the skull

Made up of three parts: outer-(ear drum)-middle (connected to eustachian tube) and inner ear (the cochlea)